Cryptocurrency holders increasingly at risk of physical attacks and kidnappings to steal private keys.
According to Alena Vranova, founder of Glok and co-founder of SatoshiLabs, investors in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are facing a growing threat of physical violence, with kidnappings occurring on a weekly basis.
During the Baltic Honeybadger 2025 conference held in Riga, Vranova highlighted how so-called “wrench attacks” — targeted physical assaults aimed at stealing private keys — are becoming increasingly common in the digital asset world.
“Every week, there is a bitcoiner, at least one in the world, who gets kidnapped, tortured, extorted, and sometimes even worse,” Vranova told the audience at the conference.
Contrary to what one might think, kidnappings do not only target large cryptocurrency holders. The threat extends to investors with smaller wallets, making a wide range of users vulnerable. Vranova explained:
“What seems to be a problem only for Bitcoin OGs is not really the case. We have seen cases of kidnappings for as little as $6,000 worth of crypto, and we have seen people murdered for $50,000 in crypto.”
Data on physical attacks against cryptocurrency holders in 2025 show a rising trend. Projections indicate that this year could see the number of assaults double compared to the worst year recorded previously.
Data leaks amplify the risk
Data breaches from centralized exchanges represent a major factor increasing kidnappings. These attacks are facilitated by sensitive information collected through KYC (Know Your Customer) procedures and other centralized software providers that store customer data.
“We currently have more than 80 million bitcoiner and crypto user identities leaked online; 2.2 million out of those contain home addresses,” Vranova revealed during her speech.
